Super Bowl Predictions

It was a journey that began 21 weeks ago. Two teams, each with different expectations. Both not necessarily in the conversation for the super bowl, but both of them exceeded expectations and are here this week at an opportunity to win super bowl 50. If you haven't figured out who I'm talking about yet, you need to reprioritize the NFL in your daily lives. Yes, I'm talking about the two finalists this season, the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. I'm going to be reviewing there seasons as well as state my predictions for super bowl 50. So let's begin.

Let's start out with the clear underdogs going in this season, the Denver Broncos. Thought I'd disappoint Broncos fans right off the bat to get it over with. Now, the Broncos for the past couple of seasons have been a clearly offensive team. That was clearly not going to be their motor, and we saw that right from week 1. It was also clear Peyton Manning wasn't going to be relied on as an asset this season, after proving age plays a major factor in football. For many Broncos fans, this was a sign that Denver might leave this dynasty without a super bowl ring (which would be very sad). That was the thought, until the defense stepped up. And when I mean stepped up, I mean they really became the reasons they were winning. The Broncos became one of the ugliest 7-0 teams in NFL history. (That's up for debate for me though. Sure, the offense was miserable, but just because the defense is great doesn't make it an "ugly" game) They still were pretty low on believers, though. Although they were able to knock of the 6-0 Packers, many still questioned if a team with such a struggling QB could go very far. Things weren't looking awful, until the game vs the Kansas City Chiefs. They had fallen for the first time in the hands of the Colts, and were coming in at 7-1. The Broncos had previously beaten the Chiefs 31-24 after a fumble forced and then a quick touchdown to save the game. Peyton Manning made history, breaking the all time passing yards record, but only got around 30 yards. He was subbed out in the second half, where he recorded the worst QB rating in his entire career. Brock Osweiler really only kept salt from getting in the wound as the Broncos fell again 29-13. The Chiefs were in the middle of what would be an 11 game winning streak, but this was an unacceptable loss that made many think they wouldn't do much this season. Peyton Manning had an "injury", which was mostly just an excuse to start Brock Osweiler over Peyton. From here they had one of the most up and down seasons the NFL has ever seen. They Muscled out a win against the Patriots, but then only scored 12 as they lost to Oakland at home. With the Patriots losing to the Dolphins in week 17, the Broncos miraculously latched on to the #1 seed. They beat a Steelers team that was without Antonio Brown and an injured Ben Roethlisberger. They then went on to beat the New England Patriots in a game where the pass rush did absolutely everything. After an interception by Chris Harris Jr. with the Pats going for two, the Broncos sealed a win 20-18. They are now in the Super Bowl and Peyton Manning has a shot to retire on the highest note possible. That is if Peyton chooses to retire, which he probably will considering Gary Kubiak has announced Brock will start next season regardless of Peyton's decision.

Now on to the Carolina Panthers. This team wasn't exactly anyone's favorites to win the super bowl by any stretch of the imagination, but this season something just clicked. I credit Cam Newton and Luke Keuchly for leading the offense and defense this far. Still, no one took them very seriously entering this season. Heck, I wasn't planning on seeing them in the playoffs. After week 4, they were still undefeated, but those were to Jacksonville, Houston, New Orleans, and Tampa Bay. Houston ended up being pretty good, but they started miserably bad. Week 5 was one of their chances to prove they could dominate. They were playing the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle wasn't playing very well though, so only beating them by 4 wasn't all that impressive. Next chance to prove themselves was against the Green Bay Packers. They pulled out a victory, but only by 8 at home. The Packers also had a struggling Aaron Rodgers and a struggling offense since they were coming off a loss to none other than the Broncos. So many excused that win as a fluke. Now at 12-0, they were going up against the Atlanta Falcons. And finally, they won big. they took a 38-0 victory, and advanced to   13-0 on the season, as they became the final team to be unbeaten. Many said this made them a possible team to compete for the super bowl, but with the schedule they had, 13-0 wasn't too hard to accomplish. Although people weren't taking the Carolina Panthers, there was definitely a quick rise in believers of former Auburn Heisman winner Cam Newton. In fact, I think it was around this point when the love and hate groups started forming. The main reason for the love was because he was seemingly leading a decent to mediocre team to the best record in the entire league. The hate group was also understandable, since his celebrations were very annoying. I don't think I fit in with either group. Cam is a great person, and loves children so how could you hate someone like that? Still though, he treats a 1st down like he just won the super bowl. Like, calm down, there's like 30 first downs avery game! Anyway, they ended up finishing the season 15-1, with their only loss being a 20-13 nail biter type defeat via the Atlanta Falcons. They whooped absolute butt against the Seattle Seahawks, or at least for a half of football. Despite winning 31-24, it showed serious weakness during the second half of play. STILL, no one taking this team seriously entering the NFC championship against Arizona. Now, this is when the Carolina Panthers proved their worth. They hit the ground running with an early 14-0 lead, and kept cruising as they finished off the game with a 49-15 victory. And just like that, in the matter of 60 minutes, Carolina became the team with the least chance of winning the super bowl out of the 4 left to the big time favorites.

I'm not going to sit here at my compute desk and tell you the Broncos will win. I'm not going to say their the  favorites. I sure as heck am not going to say the Broncos will score very efficiently. In fact, the Panthers are my pick for the super bowl. I WILL say to take them seriously, because no one is right now. I have listened to every ESPN podcast on the planet and likely the universe. I've watched countless preview videos and read countless articles. How many have I seen favor the Broncos r even say they have a chance? 1. That's it. Did you see what they did against the Patriots? It was phenominal. Their pass rush won't be as good due to not having the crowd factor and having the guy holding the ball can run, but that won't take away from their defense, which is absolutely stellar. People said they wouldn't beat the 6-0 Packers. They said they wouldn't beat the 7-0 Patriots. They said they wouldn't beat the 12-2 Bengals. They said they wouldn't get the #1 seed. They said Denver wouldn't beat the Patriots in the playoffs and people say they still can't beat Carolina? Beating a good team can be a fluke, but doing it over and over again is most certainly not. I think the debate over this super bowl should be much more than what I hear. I'm still going to take the Panthers, but the Broncos shot is still outstanding

What's happened to the Houston Rockets?

Recently, the Houston Rockets once again lost. They fell victim on the road against San Antonio. Sure, you can't blame them. The Spurs still haven't lost at home. The problem is that this is a reoccurring thing. Houston is now 16-19 this season, and they might not even make the playoffs. Before the season, I thought they'd cash in as the 2 seed or the 2nd consecutive year, but so far, they've been very mediocre. This is no longer a cold streak, or a couple of flukes. We need to find out what's happening to the Houston Rockets. Luckily for you, I've found a couple key points explaining this sudden drop in success.

Let's start off at the point guard position, currently occupied by Ty Lawson. When the Rockets acquired Lawson, I personally saw it as a decent fit. I thought they'd do better off with a point guard that can pass a little more, which leads me into this problem. Ty doesn't share the rock as much as he needs to. When you have James Harden and Dwight Howard down low, you need a point guard who can control the tempo of the game and effectively get the ball to those players. Ty just isn't that player. And I'm not even saying he's not good. I like his game, and I think, with a better fitted team, Ty is a pretty good player. I do think he could've been an all star had he worked a little harder. The only problem is he is a scorer, which doesn't fit in with Houston's game plan, and because of that, he's really struggled.

I didn't put this picture on here to show James Harden. I have this picture to represent there defense. It's horrific. This team never plays that side of the ball, period. In my mind, defense still wins championships. It doesn't get the fans excited, but it's what wins games,and the Rockets have zip defense. Just last night against the Spurs, who're one of the best defensive teams in the league, you can see a true difference. The Spurs look so much more elite, and the Rockets don't have that same heart or desire defensively to get the job done on that side of the court.

Next issue, Dwight Howard. Let's be honest. Dwight is an excellent player, but a very overrated player for sure. Ever since leaving the Magic he just hasn't looked the same, even with Houston. And then, shockingly enough, he's unhappy in Houston. the Rockets have put him on the trade block, and they've had some pretty good offers, which I'll get to in a minute. But if Dwight Howard keeps going this route, it's going to be very ugly for the Rockets. Honestly, if I'm Houston, I grant his wish. I deal him for a potential star, and then build around Harden. This way, they won't have to necessarily "rebuild" from the ground up. They can then just add a couple of pieces and be back in contention by next year. The deal I would go with would be Dwight Howard to the Heat for Hassan Whiteside and Justice Winslow. The Heat want Howard so they can have a dominating post game and still have outside shooting in Dwayne Wade and Luol Deng. For the Rockets, they then get Hassan Whiteside, who I think is one of the best rebounders today, and Justice Winslow. Then you have a team Ty Lawson will fit in with better, have a better outside game, have more of a future, and finally, retain the rebounding. Plus, Hassan gives the Rockets great defense down low, which they desperately. Regardless, they need to find an answer, because firing their coach clearly wasn't the move they needed.

The Golden State Warriors Magical 23-0 Start

Well, believe it or not, the Warriors still haven't lost. In fact, I'm not sure if they'll ever lose again. I literally just finished watching the Warriors versus Pacers game, and I have to say, they looked pretty dang outstanding. This is actually the first time I sat down and watched a Golden State game start to finish, and watching this win was very satisfying. Watching this team's teamwork looks so outstanding you can't take your eyes off the screen. Many are accepting it as a possibility that the Warriors break the supposedly unbreakable record set by the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls.

First of all, I don't think it's ever right to predict a team to break a record. Records are there for a reason, and that's because that only 1 team or player has ever gotten that much. Considering we've seen thousands of teams come through this league, a 72-10 record is remarkable. The chances of it all happening are very slim, but that doesn't mean their chances aren't too limited. At this point, the Warriors would need a 50-9 record the rest of the season to break the record. That seems more than possible at this point in the season.

When someone mentions the Golden State Warriors, the first thing I'm guessing you think of is Stephen Curry. He is the best player right now and is having one of the best seasons of all time. More on the Chef, I don't think we've ever seen a player as uniquely talented as Stephen Curry in NBA history. When you look at his small, slim, non athletic build, you can't call him the most naturally gifted player in the NBA. that award goes to LeBron, no doubt. But the kid is yet still the best shooter ever, at least as of this season, and can also get to the rack and score down low with ease as well. Even when you look at a player like Larry Bird, who couldn't jump over a dime, at least he had size going for him. Steph has nothing too natural about him and yet, he's the best player this year.

This team is not just Chef Curry, though. When you look at the best teams of all time, the 60's Celtics, the 80's Lakers, or the 90's Bulls, you see them loaded with talent. Take away Stephen Curry, and this team wouldn't be that great. Compared to the best dynasties of all time, Golden State isn't quite there in there talent. But there ball movement and outside scoring ability, they look way more talented then what I or others give them. The team's offense is so fast and effective it looks slim that they ever lose again (They will eventually lose...right?).

One of the scariest things about this team (and yes, I know I use "scary" as a good and bad thing in the world of sports) is the fact that they can go on a run and completely, 1000% change a game in an instant. Take the game against the Clippers. They got down by TWENTY POINTS relatively early. Then, somehow, someway, they won. Now take the game we just barely saw. The Warriors go down 21-16, then they score TWENTY TWO unanswered points and end the quarter up 44-18.

Will the Warriors ever lose again? Of course they will. No one will ever break the 88 game record set by UCLA. Will they break the record? It's never likely, but every game it looks more and  more likely. Will they win the championship? I don't know. It's hard to tell what teams will  be like when the playoffs are so far away. They have to stay extremely consistent. But for maybe the first time in my life (besides Kentucky last season) I'm going to say their chances will be better than 50% this season. Regardless, we need to realize we are in the middle of a Warriors dynasty.

East vs. West

Well, the NBA season is in full swing, and I have laid down my expectations. Usually in the NBA, and for a long time, the west was clearly the more dominant conference. It was an absolute bloodbath, where 48 wins were needed just to be in the playoffs. In the west, the top 7 teams are all hoping for a title. Typically, in the Eastern Conference, it's a whole lot easier. Last year there was really only Cleveland, Atlanta, and Chicago all with realistic hopes of winning a title. We also saw the Brooklyn Nets find there way into the playoffs after winning only 38 games. That, was last season, though. With all the surprises and disappointments in the league, (and a video I watched, which will be at the bottom) I'm starting to speculate. Could the east possibly be better than the west?

I'm not going to come out and say who I think is better until the end, but I will name the good's of the east and the bad's of the west. I want you to see it the other way around since many probably believe the west is still better. I believe that, too, but that doesn't mean it isn't cause for debate.

First, let's talk about the east. We knew Cleveland would be one of the best teams this year. We also were planning on the Atlanta Hawks being one of the best teams this season. Many immediately cap of those two teams as the only title contenders. Many are forgetting about the surprise team this year, the Indiana Pacers. Paul George is easily a top five player as of right now, and this team still looks like the team that put up a fight against the 2013 Miami Heat team. Speaking of South Beach, the Miami Heat are playing well also. When a team loses a player as good as LeBron James, it's not easy, and we saw that last year. But they still have a dynamic duo in Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. You also cannot forget about Goran Dragic and also Luol Deng, who I think are both severely underrated. Another team worth mentioning is the Toronto Raptors. DeMar Derozan is an absolute beast, and I also really like the games from Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas (hopefully I spelled that right). Finally, you can't mention the east without mentioning the Chicago Bulls. Derrick isn't exactly himself, but that doesn't mean they can't compete. Jimmy Butler is great, and when you pair him up with a post game featuring Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah, you've got a decent team. When you really expand and look at the east deeper, there is a lot of respectable teams.

Let's get into the Western Conference. Of course, the west has the best team in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors. Stephen Curry also will bring the MVP award to the west, which gives them another advantage. I'd even go as far as to say the San Antonio Spurs are second in the league, and the Cavs are sitting in the third spot. The problem in the west is they have had a lot of teams be disappointing up to this point. The Houston Rockets went downhill, and FAST. With a brand new head coach now in the mix, I think it'll take even longer than it should for them to be top class again. Another disappointment is the Los Angeles Clippers. I mean, they are loaded to the top with talent, but have only managed about a .500 record. I really was putting my faith into them thinking they would be great, but I'm still waiting for them to really start dominating. I'm starting to wonder if they'll get back to top class this season. Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been absolutely garbage, which was totally out of nowhere. I thought they'd be in the playoffs this year, but that hasn't happened and I doubt it will. So now we have teams like the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs, which makes them look a ton weaker. I love the Jazz, and I think they're alright, maybe a playoff team. Heck, I'd say they're only a couple years away from being contenders. but if they're a five seed this season, that right there might not say the east is better, but it does show the west has gone down from last year.

Is the east better than the west? I don't know. I don't think so. But many need to realize this isn't the bloodbath in the west and kiddie ride in the west. they've become pretty even. Although it may not be probable, it is possible we may see the east take control in the NBA.

Here is the video that i guess you could say inspired me to start looking deeper in the east vs west battle.

Indian Names: Honorable Or Insulting?

One of the most magical years in history was 1903. The year Major League Baseball was introduced. America’s great pastime started by simply creating certain teams. Many of them are still around today and have outstanding history such as the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, the Chicago Cubs, and… the Cleveland Indians. For more than a century, baseball and many other great American sports have used Indian names such as the Indians, Redskins, Utes, and others. Many are beginning to think these names are racist towards Indians, and should be changed. Though there are valued arguments on both sides, Native American names should not be required to be changed.

First, many don’t realize that people have grown a true love for these tribes. They used to live here and we are making people remember them through sports. Steve Wulf from ESPN says “Those cities do have a legacy of equality of which they can be proud”. When a team like the Cleveland Indians hoist the World Series trophy, The real Indians will see that and realize what an honor it is that there dedicating it to them. This proves that the Indians are taking part of these histories or legacies, and people love these Indians and want them to be a part of these great teams.

Secondly, most of these tribes have full knowledge of this and approve of them. The University of Utah recently paid respect to the mighty Ute tribe by approving it with the tribe themselves. “The Ute indian tribe encourages the University of Utah to use the Ute name in there sporting events with full support” said a reporter. These tribes aren’t insulted at all. This proves that we’re not going behind the Native American’s back. They know exactly what names are in these leagues and approve of them.

In addition, these sports teams’ names are to honor the tribes that once lived here. Lindsay Lowe from Scholastic news said “names such as Braves and Chiefs celebrate values such as strength and bravery.” These names are to honor the Native Americans who were put through misery due to Andrew Jackson. They helped us in a big way, and now it’s time to reward them with a very high honor; having the very valuable honor of having a team from this nation's pastime: sports.

Some believe that the names are insulting to these Indians and should be removed. Although this side makes a pretty valuable argument, they fail to consider that these tribes are not insulted and, in fact, take it as a privilege to get that honor. John Two-Hawks, a current Native American, said himself, “They would not be offended. It’s true” when talking about his tribe.  This and some of the other arguments prove that the Indians are not insulted and actually are honored.

These reasons are just a few why sports teams should not be required to change their name. It is more honorable than many think. They portray our love for the Native Americans who once lived on our land. They are also 100% knowledgeable about this. In addition, we are proud of them and want to show the pride we have for them by giving them a great honor. We need to forget the nonsense about this debate and remember the history that comes with these great Indian names. We must continue our honor for the Indians by giving them one of the highest honors: sports.

Unbreakable Records

The NBA season is starting to gain momentum, as we now are lowered down to one NBA team: The Golden State Warriors. Stephen Curry is currently the favorite to win his 2nd MVP award, as he looks to set record breaking numbers this season. He's already only 3 three pointers away from tying his dad's, Dell Curry's, career total, and he's not even in his thirties yet. Over in the NFL, Peyton Manning is 1 win away from being the all time wins leader in football history, and only 3 yards away from the career yards record. With all this going on I stopped and thought to myself, these records are being broken, but there has to be some records that will never be broke. Thus, we are presented with this post. I'm going to show you the statistics of a couple records that will never be broken.

The first record I will break down is Wilt Chamberlain. And I'm not talking about his 100 point game. Kobe Bryant has shown us that while that record is outstanding, it can be broken. I'm also not going to talk about his 50 rebound game, although I believe it will be a long time before someone breaks that record. I'm talking about the 1961-1962 season where he averaged 50 point a game. Let's face it. Back in that time period the NBA was a joke. It was the Celtics and Lakers competing for the championship every year (with the exception of the Rochester Royals every now and then). Many people weren't interested in watching it and, unless you're 7 feet tall, many weren't going to try to make the NBA either. But that doesn't discard the fact that he scored 50 points a game! Stephen Curry is so beast right now people don't even know how to handle themselves anymore and he's only at about 35 points a game. That's 15 points less than Wilt's record. It usually takes an entire half to achieve that many points. From a mathematic point of view, it's mind boggling. Plus, that's consistently for 82 games! Although Curry is great, I see him only ending up with no more than 27 points a game this season. Furthermore, in order to average 50 points a game, he had to be consistent. If he were to "struggle" and end up with only, say, 30 points, that means he would have to have a total  of 70 points the next game to stay on track. 70 points! that happens once every other season! Wilt, you'll be in the record books for ever.

The next unbreakable record was set by Joe Dimaggio. When you think of Joe, many remember his 56 game hitting streak. That is the record I'm putting on this list. Many look at this feat the way I did with Wilt Chamberlain's record: mathematically. Except when you look at this with a mathematical standpoint, it starts to look not as good. A good baseball player like Mike Trout or Troy Tulowitski get about a .300 average. That's 3 hits in 10 at bats. When you hit 1, 2, or 3 in the lineup, you'll get about 4 plate appearances a game. That means in every 5 games  a good player will have 6 hits. (6 hits in 10 plate appearances). Okay, that makes sense. But that's if you're that consistent for 56 games! Baseball has been and always will be the most inconsistent sport. In football, if you have 10 straight games with 10 receptions, that's normal if you're a good player. In basketball you can count on a good player to score 25 every night for 10 or so games. But in baseball, the best players can only be counted on to get a hit once every 5 or 6 games at a time. That's from, say, May 1st to May 6th. If you were to break Joe Dimaggio's  streak starting in May 1st, you'd have to stay that consistent until June 29th! That's all May and all June! No one will ever hit a ball that consistently ever again, especially with pitchers just getting better and better.

Over to college basketball, with an unbreakable record set by a team. The UCLA Bruins' magical 88 game winning streak. This record will never be broken. Sure, this team was around when the NBA was a sports no one was really that interested in, but 88 games! That's incredible. We look at the Kentucky Wildcats as one of the best college teams in history, and they won 39 straight without winning a National Championship. 88 games is two entire seasons gone undefeated. If they were in the NBA, they would've gone an entire NBA season without losing. The closest team to ever do that is the 90's Bulls, who finished with 72 wins and 10 losses. That team was supposedly unbeatable, but they still are 10 entire wins away from being the UCLA team in the 70's. The Golden State Warriors currently have 10 wins with no losses. I joke with my piers that they will go undefeated through 82 games, but it is obviously a joke. Many find it impossible to reach that feat in the NBA but then discard or take for granted the team that pulled off the so called unreachable feat.

Finally, we end off with Cy Young. This record isn't really taken for granted, but that doesn't make me deny how unbreakable it is. Throughout's Cy's career, he posted 511 wins. Many pitchers will pitch for about 20 seasons, meaning in order to break this (512 wins or more) you would need 26 wins EVERY SINGLE YEAR. That's incredible! Think about it, sure, a player can get 26 wins in a season, but getting that number from the time your 20 to the time your 40 without one year where you only get 25 wins. You look at the star pitchers of the future like Jacob DeGrom and Jake Arrieta (who strangely are both name Jacob) who only came away with 22 wins this season. And that's the Cy Young of the season!(pitcher of the year, not the guy were talking about even though the award is named after the guy were talking about. Man, this is getting confusing!) So if even the best pitcher in the league can't record 26 wins, I'm positive no one can do that for 26 years consecutively. Ultimately, he got am award named after him (that we discussed earlier) and is probably the greatest pitcher of all time. Maybe...

There is a lot of commotion going around that Cy wouldn't be as dominant in today's league. Back then pitchers didn't, well, pitch as much as they do now, and hitters weren't very good (except my man Joe Dimaggio). Regardless, this is a great record that will never be broken.

Derrick Rose's Future

First off, congratulations to our MLB champions (not the Cubs, despite Back to the Future's best efforts) the Kansas City Royals. My bracket was absolutely garbage, but the MLB playoffs is probably the most random playoffs in sports. Anyways, this post is actually about the NBA. Derrick Rose is injured again, and I think it's time for me to explain what needs to happen.

First off, they need to get derrick off the court. We know how injury prone this guy is, and when he has an injury he can play through, it's still not a good option to send him out every game. Rose has struggled to say the least, and at this point it'd be not too much worse to play the backup. Something I really respect Gregg Popovich for is the ability to give his player's days off while keeping there team high in the standings. I think if the Bulls did that with Derrick Rose, he could have less injuries and be a more valuable asset. I am worried that Derrick Rose will get another injury, be out for months, and the Bulls will end up in not the spot they were hoping for (probably a 5 or 6 seed).

But where do the Chicago Bulls stand and what should they do about it? Well, first, you need to test your team. Take out Derrick for a couple weeks and see if the team can still perform at an elite level without him. D Rose will get an injury pretty much every year, so if you want to win a 7th title, you need to be elite even without him. Either sign stars over free agency, or...

I know the thought sounds crazy right now, but maybe it's there best option to trade him away. Considering teams know about his injury prone-ness (is that a word?) I can't really make an estimate on his exact value in the free agency. I do know that the 76ers have been trying to figure out what they need to  do with this 3 centers thing going on. I bet they'd be willing to trade Nerleans Noel or Joel Embiid for Derrick (there's no way they get rid of Jahlil, let's face it). Whoever plays worse goes to Chicago and then the Sixers are left with a great point guard and still 2 great big men. Meanwhile Chicago has an upcoming superstar down low, and with Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol along either Noel's or Embiid's side will make up one of the greatest front courts in the NBA. They'd be lacking a point guard, but Mike Conley has the option to leave Memphis, and they could pick him up. I all else fails, trade for some picks, miss the playoffs, get a couple lottery picks, and start the rebuild. No matter what, they need to start expanding they're options. We saw almost the same thing in the MLB with the Colorado Rockies. They realized the team couldn't play well without Troy Tulowiski in, and when he was in they still weren't the best. They traded him, and set themselves up with what looks like one of the more promising teams. Chicago isn't in that exact situation, but unless they start expanding they're options, I'm marking them down as a team that WON'T win the title any time soon.